


23 Gotham Street

by riparian (JaneFinn)



Category: DC Animated Universe, DCU, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 13:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6567781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneFinn/pseuds/riparian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A dangerous new drug has been making its way through Gotham State University's campus. Needing to move quickly, Commissioner Jim Gordon calls his best cops to the case, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince. Adventure ensues as the pair go undercover as college students and track down drug dealers - all while trying to maintain a strictly professional relationship. (AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not making any profit off of this story.

"Gotta hand it to you, Wayne. Excellent job covering every angle of this case." Commissioner Jim Gordon slowly took a puff on the cigarette in his hand before continuing, "That bastard's going to spend the rest of his life in prison."

"It's hardly enough," the man across from Gordon scoffed, ignoring the cloud of smoke that was creeping towards his face. "Maroni will find a way out of the sentence, somehow. Who knows how deep his connections run in the Gotham legal system." Detective Wayne shifted in his chair, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk as he ran his hands through his dark hair in frustration. "He's probably buying his way out of prison as we speak."

Gordon managed something that was not quite a chuckle, not quite a sigh. "Damn it, Bruce," referring to the brooding detective by his first name. "At least reward yourself for the small victories. You did your job as best you could. Now, unless you also happen to be the District Attorney of Gotham, the rest is out of your hands. It's up to Dent now to… make a dent." Gordon looked up from his last comment almost sheepishly.

Bruce gave Gordon a withering look. "Really," Bruce grunted, but Gordon saw the faintest beginnings of a smile or something that resembled it on Bruce's face. Gordon grinned in response, pleased that his attempt at humor had managed to distract Gotham's most brooding detective for a split second.

Bruce nearly rolled his eyes, but refrained. Gordon was his commanding officer, after all. After a pause in the conversation, Bruce relented. "Was there anything else you needed, Gordon?" Bruce had been called in for a meeting, but Gordon usually didn't make a point of calling each officer into his office for mere congratulations.

Gordon swiveled in his chair to face Bruce squarely now, putting out his cigarette on an ashtray on his desk. Gordon's expression, open and joking a moment before, subtly shifted to something more serious. "As a matter of fact, yes. Big news, in fact. I'm assigning you to a new case, but I want you to drop the other ones."

Bruce's normally cool blue eyes widened in surprise. With anger creeping into his voice, Bruce stood up and began, "Chief, you don't have the right to-"

"What do you mean the right, Detective? This is my damn office, so I suggest you sit down." Gordon's tone brokered no discussion. He met Bruce's eyes with an icy glare of his own and watched as the detective slowly sat back down. Gordon relaxed back into his chair. "Sorry, Bruce. But you need to listen and let me finish," he continued. He pulled out a manila folder from a stack on his desk and slid it across the smooth wood to the detective.

As Bruce flipped through the folder, Gordon started explaining. "There's a new drug on the market, but it's not like any we've seen before. They apparently call it Venom. We suspect there's a supplier on campus at Gotham State."

Bruce took out what appeared to be a professional portrait of a happy, dark-haired young man wearing a letterman jacket. Handsome and confident, the young man smiled like he had the world in the palm of his hand. "Who's this?"

"That, Wayne, was a kid by the name of Garrison Jacobs. Popular football player at GSU, even as a freshman. It was rumored that he was going to be the starting quarterback next season."

Bruce grimaced as he took out the next picture in the folder: the body of a grotesquely muscled man, dead on a coroner's table. "And that is the apparent effect of addiction to Venom, tragically illustrated by Mr. Jacobs." Bruce compared the two pictures; the dead victim was almost unrecognizable from the young man in the portrait from before.

"So, it's a steroid," Bruce commented, shuffling the pictures back into the folder and closing it, placing it on the desk. He felt uneasy about the difference between the two pictures of Garrison.

"Yes, and that's unfortunately almost all we know about it so far," Gordon replied. He took back the folder and started flipping through. "We've done some preliminary investigation into the team, but apparently none of his teammates are opening up to the cops. But this is a critical time for us, Bruce. If we can contain the further distribution of Venom, we're saving ourselves a lot of work later."

"But why not put the guys in Narcotics on this? You know I'm a homicide detective. And it hardly seems like this guy was murdered."

Gordon took a moment to look around his office; the blinds were down and the door was shut. He lowered his voice before responding, "Bruce, have you had a bad feeling about this department recently? I mean, more than usual?"

Bruce didn't respond, waiting for him to continue. Gordon cleared his throat and continued softly, "Look, Bruce. Too many cases recently have been coming up short. Investigations that should have been routine are slipping from us with this and that excuse - uncooperative witnesses, insufficient evidence, whatever."

Gordon looked at Bruce full on, trying to discern the expression on the younger man's face. "Do you understand what I'm saying here?"

Bruce had similar suspicions recently about the integrity of some of his fellow officers, but didn't want to voice them without sufficient proof.

"Yes, I do. And I agree," he confided. Despite the reputation of the crooked Gotham City PD, Bruce had never found a reason to distrust Gordon over the many years he'd known him, and was relieved that someone else thought the same.

"Good. Then you can understand why I need people I can trust on this job. If there's even a chance that one of our own is involved with the distribution of Venom, the whole operation is blown if word of this gets out. We need to be very careful who we discuss the case with from now on. I'm afraid that the guy I sent to investigate the athletes has already tipped off the dealers, inadvertently or not."

Bruce nodded. "Fine. Secrecy, I can handle. But what's the actual mission?"

"Right. Logistics. I'm sending you undercover to gather information on the distributor and the target audience. We don't want the sellers to be aware of a large police presence - at least, not yet."

Bruce looked up. "What, as a professor or something?"

"No, Bruce," Gordon continued with the trace of a smile on his face, "as a student."

Bruce was not pleased.

"Don't give me that damn look, Bruce. You think that glare intimidates me? Look, as a student, you'll be much more likely to get valuable information. Going in as an authority figure like a professor would be too suspicious."

Bruce had to admit he had a point, but couldn't resist arguing, "I'm not a nineteen year old frat boy, Commissioner."

"You're right, Bruce. You're a twenty five year old frat boy," Gordon shot back with a chuckle. Bruce did have a certain… reputation among the officers for partying and womanizing. Gordon knew, though, that Bruce's off-the-clock persona was mainly that - a persona. Gordon suspected it was to keep other officers from getting too close to an apparent slob, though slob was the last word Gordon would use to describe Bruce.

Bruce attempted another glare, but it wasn't quite as hard as his last one. "Fine. So I'll be a student. Gathering intelligence on Venom and reporting back, seems simple enough."

Gordon smiled genuinely now. "Knew I could count on you, Bruce." Gordon slid the manila folder back to him. "All the information you need to know is in there. I've already made a copy for Prince. You two will start officially training as soon as I can work out some of the details."

"Prince? What does she have to do with this?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that? Detective Prince is going to be your partner. She'll be joining you as a student, so that you two can cover more ground on campus."

Shit. "I work alone," Bruce responded quickly.

"Can you stop with that damn line? Like you're the only one who cares about this city and is working to protect it? Not for this case, Bruce. You two are some of the only officers I can trust in this department, and as I explained earlier, it's important that we shut down this ring before it really gains momentum. You know Prince is as qualified as you are, if not more so," Gordon smirked.

Gordon was right. Detective Diana Prince was highly accomplished. She had graduated from the police academy at the top of her class. In hand-to-hand combat, she was highly versatile; if anything, she was likely only second to Bruce in the number of fighting styles she knew, ranging from ancient Grecian techniques to more modern combination styles. Mentally, Prince was sharp as a tack, able to piece clues together in previously overlooked ways. As a relatively recent Themysciran immigrant, she had mastered the English language quickly, though she still needed to catch up some aspects of American pop culture.

And on top of all that - she was physically stunning, not that Bruce would ever admit it out loud to anyone. Bruce found he often had to stop his gaze from lingering too long on her arresting blue eyes, dark hair, and athletic figure - it was highly unprofessional of him, and frankly a bit of an irritating distraction.

"Oh look, there she is now. Let me call her in now so I don't have to go over the whole thing twice." Gordon walked to the office door, opened it, and called out into the room, "Prince, a moment please?"

What? Bruce had been too distracted thinking about his coworker to react, when suddenly the object of his thoughts materialized in the door. Dressed casually in a leather jacket, black top, and dark jeans, she was disarmingly lovely. Her badge and gun hung loosely from the belt on her hip.

"Hello, Commissioner. Detective Wayne," she greeted with that signature smile of hers.

Oh, this is dangerous. Bruce fought the urge to match that smile with one of his own; he simply nodded at her.

"Thank you for joining us, Detective Prince. Take a seat next to Wayne," Gordon motioned as he took his seat at this desk again. "I was just briefing Wayne on the details of the case I mentioned to you earlier." Gordon took another file from his desk and handed it to Diana. "Here's your copy with the information you'll need. In summary, this is a mostly classified operation. You'll be going undercover on the GSU campus to gather information about the distribution of Venom, a dangerous new steroid that has already resulted in the death of a 20-year-old athlete at the school."

"College, huh?" Prince grinned, processing all the information Gordon had told her quickly. "Seems fun. Haven't had an excuse to wear sweatpants in public in a while."

"See, Bruce? Take a lesson from your coworker, huh?" Gordon chuckled, suddenly noticing how Bruce shifted in the seat next to Diana uncomfortably. Oh, Gordon thought. No wonder he insists on not working with her, containing a smile that was forming on his face. Gordon continued, "Diana, Bruce can brief you on the rest if you have any questions. I have a meeting to attend in a few minutes, so I'll leave you to it. The goal is to have you on campus in the next few weeks before the term begins." Gordon stood up to leave.

Bruce, who hadn't said anything the whole time, stood up as well. "If you'll excuse me," Bruce muttered, "I need to finish up details on the Maroni case."

Diana's face lit up, reaching to gently grab Bruce's wrist. "Bruce, I meant to congratulate you on a job well done! I heard how brilliant you were in the interrogation room, getting him to confess like that. He's a sick man."

Bruce looked down at Diana's hand on his wrist and paused slightly before he brusquely stepped away. "Appreciated, Detective Prince. If you'll excuse me," he murmured before nearly silently gliding out of Gordon's office.

Gordon watched Bruce go. How does he manage to leave a room so quietly, he wondered. He looked back at Diana, who was still seated and wore a slightly annoyed expression on her face. "Does he ever take a compliment," Diana wondered aloud.

"Sorry, Diana, it's not you," Gordon replied. Or maybe it is - his crush on you, that is. "He's wound up today because he thinks Maroni won't end up getting any jail time. But I trust Harvey to get the rest of the job done and land that sick bastard in prison."

Diana's expression changed to one of gentle amusement. "That reminds me," she said. "I need to call Harvey back."

"Oh?" Gordon asked. "Something about a case?"

"No," Diana said, a slight blush coloring her face. "He actually asked me out on a date the last time I saw him, but I forgot to respond. It's been busy around here, but I feel horrible for making him wait for an answer."

Gordon almost laughed. "A date, huh? Well, he'll be a lucky guy if you let him take you to dinner." Oh man, I wonder if Bruce knows.

"You're sweet, Jim," Diana said. She stood up. "Well, since Bruce is apparently too busy to discuss the case, I'm going to head to lunch, if that's all right. And you should get to your meeting."

"Absolutely, Diana. I'll see you two again tomorrow at one to talk about more of the specifics. Let me know if you have questions in the meantime. I am trusting you two to wrap this up discreetly." The pair walked out of Jim Gordon's office, ready to face the day.

A/N: Hi, I'm a long time lurker on AO3 but this is my first time posting my fics on here (just moving over from FFN). I will continue to update both in the future. As always, I LOVE to hear from readers about anything. Leave me a comment or mail if you feel so inclined.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning

It was an exceptionally chilly day in Gotham, and Diana was glad to be inside as she made her way through Gotham City Police's central office space. It was relatively early in the work morning, and most of the desks in the office were empty. Diana didn't mind, though. For the first time in a while, she had gotten a full night of sleep due to a case wrapping up, and Diana felt relaxed and energized with the satisfaction of a job well done and an interesting new case to look forward to. Maybe I'm feeling good enough to even do… paperwork, Diana conceded with a sigh. She had a few hours free before she met with Gordon and Bruce to discuss more about training and logistics. Taking a seat at her desk, Diana began thumbing through some handwritten reports she needed to input into the computerized databases. Being a detective certainly had its challenges, but she found the bureaucratic aspect of it particularly tedious.

At least she wasn't a patrol officer writing traffic tickets anymore, Diana reflected, taking a moment to appreciate the unpredictable nature of her day-to-day schedule as a homicide detective. She knew the long hours and lack of routine would scare off most, but Diana loved how nearly every day of her job presented a new challenge physically and mentally. Well, most of the time, anyway. Sometimes on cold days like this she wished she was at home on a warm Themysciran beach, sipping wine with her sisters.

"Morning, Di," a bright voice chirped, interrupting her thoughts. Diana looked to the source of the voice with surprise, locating the petite blonde immediately. "Etta! How did I miss you on the way in? Are you feeling better?"

"I was just in the kitchen grabbing some tea," Etta responded as she held up her steaming mug, making her way over to give Diana a warm hug. "And I am basically fully recovered, thank you. Sorry, I should have mentioned that before I went in for the hug there. Not contagious anymore, I hope, or Steve probably would be sick by now too because of how much we ..." Etta trailed off.

"No thanks," Diana interjected. Though she was happy her two friends had found a great match in each other, Diana didn't necessarily need the details about the physical aspect of their relationship.

"I was going to say hold hands, yeesh," Etta grinned. "Anyway. I'm just glad to not be huddled in my bed watching Netflix all day. The first sick day was kind of relaxing, but by the second, I really just felt like I needed to get out of the house. How was kickboxing class on Tuesday? I'm so sad I missed it."

"I actually didn't make it this week either," Diana replied. "I was wrapping up the Torres case and didn't make it home until ten that day. Definitely could have used the workout, though."

"You seriously work too hard, Di," Etta laughed, "and please, miss Lara Croft 2.0. I think you'll be fine skipping one class. In fact, you could kick the instructor's ass, but don't tell him I said that."

"Who' Lara Croft? But," Diana smiled, "you're probably right about Michael."

"Seriously, Di. Bad-ass tomb raider, played by Angelina Jolie in the movies…"

Diana shook her head slowly. Etta continued, "I'll just add that to the list of things we need to watch when we both have free time. Anyway, that's a matchup I would love to watch, you and Mr. Booster Gold himself. Where did he come up with that name, anyway?"

"Hah. Who knows. And maybe next week. I still can't believe how much personalized workout gear he has. It's like he thinks he's some kind of exercise god."

"Ridiculous," Etta agreed. "So, what are you doing for lunch today? Cafeteria has some vaguely appetizing entrees today, if I read correctly on the way in."

"Miss Candy, Detective Prince," a deep voice interrupted, startling both women.

"Jesus, Wayne. How does a big guy like you sneak up on people?" Etta asked.

"Sorry, both for scaring you and interrupting." Bruce looked at Etta apologetically before asking, "May I borrow Detective Prince for a moment? I… need to speak to her privately, if you don't mind."

Etta's eyebrows raised in surprise before she shrugged and grabbed her mug of tea. "Sure. I have to make sure Gordon's schedule hasn't been falling apart without me, anyway. Di, text me about lunch today?"

"Sure," Diana replied as Etta left. "Hi, Bruce. You can call me Diana, you know." She noted that snow lightly dotted Bruce's coat and thick, dark hair, distracting her for a moment as she watched it melt. He looked rather… cute, actually, hair mussed and a hint of pink on his cheeks from the cold outside. Wait, what?

"Right. Diana. I just passed Gordon on my way in. He told me he wouldn't be able to meet us today for training, so he's calling it off and wanted me to let you know."

"Oh, okay," Diana responded, slightly disappointed as she had felt so ready to seize the day just a few minutes prior. The meeting with Bruce and Gordon would have given her a deeper understanding of what the upcoming assignment was going to entail, as Diana was slightly nervous about the details of her first undercover case. It seemed she now faced a rather unfulfilling day of typing up reports.

Bruce seemed to notice her expression and continued after a moment, "But, if I'm not intruding on your plans with Etta, perhaps we could discuss it a bit over lunch? There's a new cafe on 8th that has an excellent mocha. My treat."

Diana looked at Bruce with surprise, but there was no hint of guile in his clear blue eyes. From her observations, he didn't seem to socialize with other officers much, and had never made much of an effort to talk to her in any non-professional manner. Then, there were those rumors about his supposed party lifestyle, but she didn't quite buy it, not with how seriously he seemed to take his job.

Bruce met her gaze expectantly. After a pause, he continued, "I understand if you had plans with Etta, Gordon'll likely reschedule-"

"No, it's fine," Diana interrupted. "Etta and I can catch up anytime." She smiled at him, actually intrigued at how this would go. "Lunch and some more espresso sounds lovely. Is my love for mochas that obvious?"

"Just a little. Considering you drink at least three every day," Bruce said with a half-smile, and Diana was surprised at how handsome he looked in that moment, an almost playful expression spread across his strong features. What are you doing, Prince, she thought to herself. Flirting with your handsome coworker is not a good course of action. Especially one you'll be working with directly.

"Well, I guess I'll have to have a fourth, then," she responded lightly after a beat, turning back to her desk to face the computer screen and hide what she thought might be an oncoming blush. "See you at noon," she continued cheerily, keeping her eyes steadily trained on the screen.

She could see him move away from her desk in her periphery. "All right. See you then," Bruce said before turning away and leaving. Diana looked away from the screen at last, to find he was gone. After a moment, she picked up her phone and typed in a message. sorry, etta - lunch tmrw or later this week ? something came up.

The response came a minute later. sure, no problem. tell mr. tall dark and handsome i say hi ;) . Diana took a moment before deciding not to respond. With a hint of a smile playing across her lips, she closed her phone and set it on the desk.

"Mmm, that's delicious," Diana murmured into her mug, licking a bit of mocha foam from her lips a moment later, and Bruce was again reminded what a stupid move this was on his part. Incredibly stupid.

Instead of simply allowing Gordon to reschedule their meeting, Bruce had rather irrationally decided to ask his intelligent, independent, and gorgeous coworker out on what was basically a lunch date. And since when did he do irrational? Stop acting like a schoolboy with a crush, Bruce told himself. Of course it was normal to be physically attracted to her. What guy wouldn't be?

Bruce cleared his throat, watching a lock of Diana's dark hair frame her face as she lowered her lips to the edge of the mug yet again. "I'm glad you think so. I know the owner, actually, so I might have had a bit of bias in choosing to come here today."

"Oh? An old friend? Well, an excellent choice. I might have to start coming here instead of Gotham Grounds to get my mochas in the morning," Diana replied.

"Well, sort of. A few years ago Kabir's restaurant was robbed at gunpoint, and I happened to be on call in the area. I apprehended the burglars as they escaped, and got all of Kabir's money back. Since then Kabir's been able to expand his businesses, it seems. This was a while ago, though, back when I was a patrol officer."

There was a bit more to it than that. After apprehending the criminals, Bruce realized they also fit the description of perpetrators behind an unsolved string of serial robberies targeting immigrant businesses. After further investigation and some time in the interrogation room with the suspects, Bruce helped to successfully recover several thousand dollars of Gotham business owners' money before it made its way into the black market. It was one of the early highlights of his career, a factor in aiding his promotion to detective, and an accomplishment Bruce was proud of.

"That's amazing, Bruce," Diana said sincerely, and Bruce's stomach tightened at the genuine warmth in her voice. "Just a typical day on this job, huh," she said with a wry smile.

"Right. Speaking of a typical day on the job, let's discuss the case," Bruce said, trying to steer the conversation to a more professional, logistical discussion of something he had already studied. That, he could handle. "Did you get a chance to read through the file yet?"

"Most, but not all of it yet."

"Okay, no problem. Well, there's a lot to cover, and some of this we'll need to discuss with Gordon. But I guess we can begin with the basics. Can you give me a general idea of the extent of your experience undercover?"

Diana bit her lip, and Bruce allowed his gaze to linger for just a moment on the brief, hypnotic sight. Focus, Bruce, he willed himself.

"This will actually be my first undercover case," Diana admitted quietly, looking down at her plate. "I'm not sure if Gordon realized when he assigned it to me."

"Really?" Bruce couldn't hide his surprise. "With your success rate, I assumed Gordon would have given one to you long ago."

Diana looked at him in the eye. "I'm not terribly good at hiding my emotions, I think. Etta has told me that I, what was it?" She thought about it for a moment before continuing, "Ah, I wear my heart on my sleeve, she said. And I guess I can't do that if I'm going to be effective undercover."

Bruce wanted to deny her statement, but she was right. Bruce had noticed that Diana's emotions were often easily apparent, in a stark contrast to himself. Her outspoken nature was refreshing, often surprising - but it would potentially be a problem on the field if their covers depended on it. Bruce resisted the urge to offer her false placations.

"Unfortunately, you're right. From my experience, the key to undercover work is most often maintaining neutrality and composure," he responded honestly. "But it's something we can work on." Bruce definitely knew a thing or two about reining in what emotions he did have. He considered it one of his finest traits as a detective, the ability to process information logically and impartially. Though Alfred might disagree on whether or not that made him an emotionally healthy person.

"We can start with some basics," Bruce continued. "For one, the whole op can be blown if anyone recognizes you either as a civilian or as Gotham PD. Do you have any acquaintances, no matter how irrelevant, that might be attending GSU or have business being in the university district?"

"I'll need to take some more time to think about it, but no, not any off the top of my head."

"Excellent. Next, there's the business of establishing-"

"What about you, Bruce? You don't have any… off-duty friends from around town that might be in school?" Diana regarded him pointedly. Bruce was thrown off for a moment before realizing what she might be thinking.

"If you're referring to my personal life, I make it a point to not mix business and pleasure," Bruce replied, watching the way Diana scrutinized him.

"But don't you, Bruce? Or so I've heard, anyway," she countered. "I don't mean to be rude. But as you said, it's important to consider for the case."

The truth was Bruce did frequent parties and bars with other GCPD officers. The trick was in just enough feigned drunkenness to make an impression, perhaps a bit of heavy-handed flirting with waitresses or bartenders, to maintain a reputation of a bit of a sleaze. Occasionally he would leave with a girl to the quiet cheers of the other officers before politely but promptly dropping her off. His reputation established a superficial camaraderie that made the officers amiable with him, but prevented anyone from getting too close. But Diana didn't need to know all of that now.

"It's not a concern," Bruce responded brusquely. Knowing that Diana had been fair in her assessment, he softened before saying, "It's a valid point. But no, I don't think it'll be a problem either."

Diana nodded, seeming to accept his answer. "All right, if you say so. What did you say we needed to establish?"

"Right. Our covers. We'll both be posing as transfer students for the fall semester. Given that we know the drug has a link to the football team, Gordon wants me to try to get on the team to get closer to Garrison's friends and acquaintances. Since there isn't a women's team, however, your cover is a bit more flexible. Any ideas? My tip would be to keep it simple, it's easier to remember and maintain."

"Hmm," Diana pondered. "Makes sense. If you don't mind, I'll need to think about it more too. I attended an all-women's college in Themyscira, so things are probably a little bit different at an American university."

"Sure. We'll likely retain both of our first names, again, so it's easier to keep track of." Bruce shifted a bit in his seat before continuing, "There's also the factor of our cover relationship with each other. Since we know each other and will be communicating with each other often, we'll need to establish some sort of pre-existing relationship. Friends from high school, I think, should do the trick?"

"Seems fine to me. I suppose I could pretend to be your friend," Diana smirked.

"Thank you so much, Diana," Bruce huffed exaggeratedly with a small smile. "Your extreme sacrifice for the cause is noted. I'll be sure to tell Gordon of your bravery, becoming friends with a guy like me."

Diana laughed, and Bruce felt a small thrill to be the cause of that lovely sound. Bruce thought about her comment. Were they friends? Coworkers, certainly. Case partners, soon. But friends … it didn't seem quite right, given they didn't interact much, a bit purposefully on Bruce's end.

"Well, Bruce, I wouldn't call it-"

"Mr. Bruce," a booming voice called across the room. Kabir, wearing a bright maroon turban and sand-colored kurta, made his way over to their table to give Bruce a hearty slap on the back. He looked as vibrant as ever, though with a bit more paunch in his belly and gray in his thick beard. "A joy to welcome you to my newest venture, this espresso café. A bit different from New Delhi Palace, eh? And who is this vision," Kabir grinned, turning towards Diana and extending his hand to her. "Welcome to my cafe. I owe a large part of my success to your lover boy," he winked.

Diana flushed red. "Um - we're not dating, actually, just coworkers," Diana replied, though she returned Kabir's handshake. "I'm Diana." Well, good to know where she stands, Bruce thought.

"Oh? I am sorry to make you uncomfortable, miss Diana. I surely thought you were the beauty Bruce spoke so highly of though-"

"Kabir, congratulations on a packed house. You must be very busy." Bruce avoided Diana's eyes, willing Kabir to drop the topic. He had forgotten he had briefly mentioned an intriguing and beautiful co-worker to Kabir when Diana had first joined the force, given Kabir's sometimes relentless questioning about Bruce's personal life and efforts to play matchmaker.

For his surprisingly sharp memory, Kabir thankfully forgot about his earlier line of questioning. "Yes, Mr. Bruce. I am now the owner of two good businesses in Gotham, can you believe? Please, help yourself to anything. It is all on the house, here at my cafe and at New Delhi Palace. You will never have to buy Indian food or a coffee in this town, if I can help it."

"Thank you, Kabir."

"I will leave you now to enjoy. Please, stay here for hours if you wish," Kabir finished, winking at Bruce before going to greet another table.

"He's adorable," Diana said after Kabir left.

"Yes, he's a good man," Bruce agreed, adding after a moment, "Sorry if he was a bit much. He's been wanting me to date his daughter Meera nearly since we've met," Bruce chuckled, though he noticed Diana didn't grin as widely as he thought she might.

"It's no problem," Diana responded. "You were saying about the case?"

Bruce was about to mention that she had been about to say something, but dropped it. They continued discussing strategies, as much as they could without delving too deeply into things that would need Gordon's input. Some time later, Diana glanced at her watch, and sat up a bit in surprise. "Oh! I'm sorry, Bruce, but I need to get back to the office to finish up some paperwork."

"Oh, sure," Bruce responded as he too glanced at the time. Almost two hours had easily passed in between them eating and chatting. It had been quite an extended, yet engaging lunch break. "I'll likely stick around a bit to catch up more with Kabir, but I might see you at the office later."

Diana stood up to leave, but looked at Bruce thoughtfully. "Thank you," she told him.

"For what?"

"For being patient with me and my questions. I won't lie, I was nervous about how this might look. But I'm excited to work with you, Bruce."

Bruce was surprised with the sincerity in his voice when he responded, "It was my pleasure, Diana. See you."

As she exited the cafe, giving him a smile and a wave, Bruce felt a growing excitement that he hadn't in a long time. It's because this will be an interesting case, he told himself. Right. It definitely didn't have anything to do with his intriguing new partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reposting from FFN. Would LOVE to hear from you - it'd certainly be encouraging to know people are at least reading this fic, no matter what you actually think about it!


End file.
